The Most Important Woman in The Whole Wide Universe
by EmeraldScarlettIndigo
Summary: Set two/three years after Journey's End. What happens when Donna starts to remember, yet she says nothing? Will the Doctor be able to help or is it too late for Donna? Rated M to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

I guess it all started the first time we met. It was all so ridiculous really. There we were, businessman, bride and alien travelling through an underground corridor on Segways... that was the first time I saw her smile. The first time she looked into my eyes and allowed me to see the fear and worry drain from her to reveal a childlike joy that I was instantly drawn to. The first time I felt she genuinely trusted me. I should have known Lance would hurt her, didn't like him from the start really... though maybe I was biased? Nah! She was far too good for him.

I knew this one was dangerous. looking back I can see now that Rose was just a kid, it never would have worked. And Martha... well, as lovely as she was I knew that there was someone better suited for her out there. But Donna was something else altogether... Donna Noble, My brilliant, brilliant Donna Noble.

I remember the first and last time she kissed me. The feeling of her warm hands on my face pulling my lips closer to hers, her hot breath melting my every thought... not that there were many at that point to be honest. The taste of ginger beer, anchovies and walnuts might not have been ideal, yet I still wanted more. That day in the library, I was so scared of losing her to the shadows that when I pulled her back I didn't even notice where or how close I was holding her. It wasn't until I saw the scowl on her face that I realised exactly where my hands were, but there was something in her eyes as I tried to explain myself. Not hurt, not anger, but dare I say amusement?

But I knew I could never tell her how I felt. Everything was pointing towards something and I knew it... okay, I didn't know exactly _what_ it was pointing to, but I knew it could never end well. I just wish that, that brilliant woman could know just how important she was, not only to me but to the entire universe. That was the most heartbreaking thing, having to leave Donna with the belief that she was just another unimportant human being when in reality she meant so much in the scheme of time and space. Knowing that when she walked down the street she would never know that she saved the lives of every single person she passed... some of the more than once!

* * *

Donna lay awake in her bed. No, she wasn't sad anymore, she wasn't hurt, she was angry. She gave her heart and soul to her marriage with Shaun and he just up and leaves her for the next young thing? She always thought that when she finally married it would be the real thing, it would be forever. Yet here she was... her first marriage, a failure.

An image flashed before her eyes, a spider with red hairy skin and beady black eyes. As quickly as the image came it disappeared. _Well, that was strange, _she thought to herself but just wrote it off as something from a long forgotten nightmare. She once again turned in her bed trying desperately to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Through her window she spotted an orangey red light flickering in the distance and she knew her grandfather was once again at his battle station at the top of the hill. With a small smile she threw the covers off of herself and went to the kitchen to make some tea.

"Any recent alien invasions?" Donna teased as she reached the top of the hill, holding out a spare mug of tea for her grandfather.

Ever since the whole incident Wilfred had felt very uneasy talking to his grand-daughter about anything that did not originate from their home planet. Donna saw the somewhat frightened look he gave her and felt a little sorry for teasing the old man on a fear he obviously genuinely believed in.

"No aliens in that sky," Wilfred lied putting on his best fake smile as he reached out to take the mug that was handed to him, "Don't worry love. Us humans are the only threat in this universe."

"What you looking for them?" Donna asked, calling his bluff, as she took a seat beside him and his telescope, "And don't say the stars. You can name every single one of 'em. Don't say Planets either, if some idiot gave you a rocket ship you could easily find your way from one to another."

"You just mind your own business," Wilf chuckled, giving her a playful nudge.

"Fine." she threw her hands up in mock surrender before pointing towards the telescope and asking, "mind if I take a look?"

The smile vanished from Wilf's face, which did not go unnoticed, but despite his worry he moved to the side to let Donna see the stars. They were beautiful. She certainly understood how someone could spend every night gazing up at that sky.

"Any end-of-the-world warning signals I should be looking for?" She playfully teased as she pulled back from the telescope.

"No sweetheart," Wild chuckled, yet pulled her close into a loving hug with a tear threatening to fall and kissed the top of her head, "We're all alone in this universe."

Donna nodded her head and smiled. She loved it when her grandfather was all sentimental like this, after all who knew how many years she had left with him? Maybe this would be a memory she'd look back on and smile once he'd left. But something in his tone didn't sound all that convincing.

"But do me a favour, Love." he pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Anything," She smiled back at him.

"If you ever see a big, blue, wooden box," his eyes grew fearful, "Run. Don't try to understand it, don't try to be a hero, don't stick around to ask questions. Just run like the entire universe depends on it. You hear me?"

"What are you talking about? What kind of blue box?"

"Oh, you'll know it if you ever see it. Just promise me you'll run."

"Okay, Granddad. I swear I'll run," Donna smiled sweetly up at the old man before kissing his cheek and retrieving both mugs and standing to her feet.

_Poor man is getting old, _she thought to herself, _He's starting to say things that don't even make sense._

"Keep a lookout on those stars for us and I'll be on the lookout for a blue box." She saluted playfully before starting down the hill once more.

_"Donna, Donna Noble, since you didn't ask... I'll have a salute..." _She heard a voice remarkably like her own ring out before giving her head a quick shake and walking back towards to house.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

It must have been midday when the Tardis landed on the other side of the street. A tall skinny man emerged from the front door and looked carefully around. The car was gone, he knew Donna was at work, but the question remained as to whether Sylvia was still home. That was quickly answered when the front door of the house was opened by Wilf who promptly gestured for the Doctor to come in.

Over the years the Doctor had taken to meeting with Wilf every three months just to make sure Donna was still okay and not in any danger. He had to admit that he enjoyed stopping and chatting with him, it was one of the few chances he got for genuine human interaction. They swapped stories, Wilf of the good old days and the Doctor of the last few days. They had a lot in common and liked each other's company. Wilf often asked to join the Doctor on some of these adventures, but he wasn't willing to risk Donnas health more than necessary.

"So, how's Donna doing?" The Doctor finally asked after hours of small talk.

"Not so good, I'm afraid." Wilf shook his head before taking another sip of what must have been his fifth cup of tea, "Still rather upset over Shaun, but you know what she's like when she's really upset. She tries her best to hide behind that sharp wit of hers."

The Doctor didn't know whether to frown that she was still in pain or to laugh at one of Donnas many idiosyncrasies that he loved so well.

"Well, that will take time, Wilfred."

"I know, it just hurts to know that she's hurting. Poor girl hasn't had much sleep either. Been trying to keep her off the hill with me at night, you know in case something in that sky brings back memories, but she's up there almost every night. Only for a few minutes, mind you."

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I don't like her looking through that telescope, Wilfred. Just do me a favour?"

"Anything if it will keep Donna safe."

"I know it's asking a lot, but put the telescope in the attic. Tell her it's broken and it's being repaired. Just keep it away from her for a few months?"

"Of course, Doctor." he nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you," he reached out and patted his hand on the table, "Now, I really have to be going, Donna and Sylvia will be home any second, and honestly I'm not sure who I'm most scared of running into."

Wilf chuckled as the seemingly younger man shot out of his chair and reached out for a handshake.

"Okay," he took his hand in both of his, "Thank you for caring for my Granddaughter. I know she means more to you then you let on."

"I don't have time to argue," the Doctor laughed and headed out the front door and back to the Tardis, where he took a seat and sighed heavily as he remembered all the good times he had with Donna. The one assistant he surely felt he could never replace.

* * *

Donna pulled up onto the pavement just outside her mother's house. Yes, she might be living there for the moment but it was not her home, and now she came to think about it she never quite felt at home when she was living with Shaun either.

_I'm sure Doctor Jenkins would have a field day with that thought, _she thought to herself as she dreaded the next appointment she had with the exceedingly boring therapist her mother had insisted on after the divorce.

Donna got out of the car and opened the boot to retrieve the groceries she just bought, but as she closed the boot and turned around the bags dropped from her hands onto the pavement. There, on the other side of the street was a big blue wooded box. Her Grandfather had been right, she did know it when she saw it, and her first instinct was to do as she had promised and run for the front door of the house.

But there was something else. Something on a deeper level. Like there was another person in her brain calling out, trying with all its might just to get to the box, just to touch it. Against all her instincts she crossed the street, still keeping a safe distance from it, but never taking her eyes off of it.

What she felt next she wouldn't have been able to describe. It was like the most beautiful music she had ever heard in her life. Only she wasn't hearing it, but feeling it and she couldn't move, not that she wanted to.

* * *

The Doctor wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve and let out a slow and steady sigh before standing to his feet. He knew he'd better leave before someone saw him so he headed to the controls.

"Alright Girl," He looked at the Tardis, "It's just you and me again. Allons-y!" he shouted as he flicked a few controls, pulled a few leavers and pushed a few buttons.

But something was wrong, the Tardis didn't move. _I don't have time for this, _he half groaned half chuckled at the irony of a Time Lord running out of time. He picked up a small hammer and proceeded to hit a few things before once more trying to get the Tardis to move. And this time he got a response. Instead of the Tardis going into the Vortex as instructed it began to softly purr. Something the Doctor had never heard it do before.

He once again nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what the Tardis was playing at.

* * *

The music played louder, calling out to Donna and she began to move forward. She was not being controlled by anything, yet it was as if something about that blue box way making her want to get closer, to inspect it. She reached out her hand as she slowly walked towards it, part of her trying to pull back but a bigger part drawing her nearer. Images started to flood her memory: giant spiders, talking rhinos, emotionless robots, the box, the blue box, the Tardis... home.

Her head started to feel hotter and hotter, yet she couldn't pull away. Tears started to stream as it all began to come back...

Down the street Sylvia was driving to the house when she noticed the Tardis. She wasn't stupid, she knew the Doctor visited to make sure Donna was okay (that didn't go to say that she liked the idea). _Surely he should have left by now,_ she thought to herself, _What if Donna sees?_

It was then that she saw her daughter, her outstretched hand barely two inches from the Tardis door, and she stopped the car immediately and yelled at the top of her lungs, "DONNA, NO!"

* * *

The Doctor heard the cry. If anyone's voice could penetrate the walls of the Tardis it would be Sylvia Nobles. He rushed to the doors as fast as his skinny legs would take him and opened them just before Donnas hand came into contact with the Tardis.

"Donna!" He screamed as she fell into the Tardis, being caught just before she hit the floor. She looked up at him from the ground, dazed and confused, with bloodshot eyes which barely managed to stay open.

"Doctor?" she breathed as her eyes began to shut.

The Doctor sobbed uncontrollably as he pulled her closer to him in a sitting position, "I'm so sorry, Donna. I'm so very sorry." and with that he placed a loving kiss to her lips.

There was a bright red flash and the Doctor saw nothing but black...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Doctor awoke to being violently shaken.

"Doctor! Doctor, please wake up you have to help her!" Wilfred's cry brought him to full consciousness. He looked next to him to find Sylvia crying softly and shaking her daughter in an attempt to wake her.

"Sylvia," the Doctor tried to get her attention, "Sylvia she's gone... I'm so very sorry."

"She is not gone!" Sylvia snarled in return still shaking her daughter, "Wake up, Donna!"

"Sylvia, there is nothing we can do..." The Doctor stood to his feet.

"She's breathing! She has a pulse!" Sylvia shouted from the floor. He looked down at Donna. With the force of information flooding back into her head her skull should be severely cracked with the surrounding skin showing incredibly painful burn marks. Her brain should have literally exploded! Surely one of the worst ways to die. But she looked fine, she looked peaceful. And her chest was moving up and down... she was breathing!

The Doctor quickly knelt down beside Donna.

"Don't touch her!" Sylvia spat, "Don't you _dare_ touch her!"

But the Doctor did not pull back, if there was any way he could help Donna not even the wrath of Sylvia Noble could stop him.

"I'm checking for a pulse, Mrs Noble. I'm trying to help."

"We don't need your help!" she shouted, "We'll take her into the house and get a real doctor," She stated standing to her feet.

"And tell him what exactly?" The Doctor matched her volume and tone standing to his feet as well, "That an alien Time Lord stole her memories to stop her from remembering that she's actually got a half human/ half Time Lord brain so that it doesn't swell and explode, and now it seems she might be remembering? is that what you'll tell him? Because I would sure like to be there for that, Mrs Noble!"

"Doctor," Wilfred addressed him in a somewhat meek voice pulling Sylvia towards him, "Can you help her?"

The Doctor looked down at Donna and then back into the hopeful eyes of Sylvia and realised that she was just as scared as he was. He brought his hand to the back of his neck once again.

"How about a compromise? Let's take her into the house and I'll examine her there, okay?" he asked delicately and in return received a careful nod, "Great, you two carry her and I'll open the doors."

Sylvia and Wilfred each draped one of Donnas arms over their shoulders and carried her towards the Tardis doors, but when the Doctor tried to open them they would not budge.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Wilfred asked.

"I don't know..." the Doctor shook the doors once more but they stood firm, "The Tardis has been acting very weird today."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Sylvia sighed, "You talk about this stupid box as if it's a living thing!"

A water pipe just above Sylvia burst and started to pour water onto her head. She went to let out a loud scream but all that came were tears.

"Oh, no you don't!" the Doctor yelled before reaching up to fix the pipe, "Sorry, Mrs Noble, her feelings are really very sensitive."

"Feelings?" Wilfred exclaimed in amazement, "Well, I'll be... this thing's alive."

"Yes, she is. She must have a reason for not letting us out, I'm sorry but we'll have to bring her to the medical room," the Doctor gestured towards a door at the other end of the Tardis and Sylvia shot him a dirty look, she could never quite bring herself to trust him. As if reading her thoughts the Doctor quickly added, "I really am sorry, Mrs Noble, but I need to make sure she's okay."

Sylvia nodded her head and with the help of her father they managed to get Donna into to medical room, which was not at all how Sylvia expected it to be. She had pictured the typical doctors room with an examining table in the middle and various cold, metal medical instruments and machines. Instead she was greeted with what looked like a very comfy bedroom, with a small single bed in the middle, cushions and cuddly toys were scattered around the room and pictures lined to walls.

Wilf and Sylvia set Donna down on the bed and took a step back to let the Doctor sit on the edge of the bed to examine her. He pulled out a stethoscope from an inside jacket pocket, inserted it into his ears and lowered the cold disc onto her chest.

"Hey, watch those hands, alien boy." Wilfred attempted a joke to somehow lighten the mood.

"I'm just listening to her heart, Wilfred," The doctor replied missing the obvious tone to Wilfred's voice, but blushing slightly non-the-less. "What the...?" he moved the disc to the other side of her chest.

"What is it?" Sylvia jumped

"Oi! heart's on the other side of the chest Doctor!" Wilfred shouted.

"No, it's not... well it is... but it also isn't..." The Doctor seemed to be straining to think.

Both Sylvia and Wilfred began to merge into a mess of desperate questions.

"four beats..." the Doctor mumbled to himself, "four beats... that's impossible..." he jumped to his feet startling the two already stressed humans in front of him, "Sorry, need to check something," he opened a cupboard at the other end of the room and retrieved something that looked suspiciously like a shower cap and placed it on Donna's head.

"What the hell is that?" Sylvia shouted becoming more and more agitated by the minute.

"Not hell, I can assure you," The Doctor began to ramble as he started to search desperately for something on the floor, "I've been to hell- well... K37 Gem 5, but I met the devil- well... a beast that resembles the Devil. Personally I think the Devil is more of an idea, which makes him all that more dangerous, you see? Because you can't kill an idea- Ah! There it is!" He triumphantly raised a remote control above his head before pointing it at a TV that hung on the wall of the room.

Something that looked surprisingly similar to an MRI scan of Donna's head lit up the TV screen and the Doctor studied it for a few seconds before his eyes grew wide.

"What?... that can't be right... how could she... makes no sense." He began to ramble again.

"Doctor!" Wilfred took the Doctor by the shoulders and forced him to look at him, "Tell us what's going on."

The Doctor stopped and looked between Wilfred and Sylvia, both of whom seemed to be pale with worry. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts before attempting to explain.

"Well, to start with... She now has two hearts-"

"Two hearts?!" Sylvia shouted, "Who the hell has two hearts?"

"I do," The Doctor stated matter-of-factly, "I have two hearts, but two of her heart beats seem fainter than that of the other two, which tells me that the new heart is smaller than the original." he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed once more.

"And the cap on her head?" Wilfred asked.

"Well, that's rather difficult to explain..." He replied removing the cap from her head.

"Try us," Sylvia ordered.

"Well... think about it in terms of the Tardis and an ordinary wooden box, where my brain is the Tardis and yours is a wooden box, metaphorically speaking of course. The point is they are both the same size on the outside but my brain is roughly ten times bigger on the inside than yours. It would have to be to carry all the information of time and space-"

"So what you're saying is," Sylvia interrupted, "That my daughter's brain is now ten times bigger on the inside, even though it looks the same size?"

"Yes," the Doctor seemed thrilled that his analogy worked, "Well, no. See Donnas brain is probably only 5 or 6 times bigger on the inside than yours."

"So my daughter is now one of your species... a Time Lord?" Sylvia looked genuinely terrified.

"No, not really," The Doctor wasn't really sure what was going on or how it happened, "She is half Human/ half Time Lord, but it seems that somehow her body has adapted to better help her contain all the information needed to be a Time Lord."

"Yeah!" Wilfred shouted as he punched his fists in the air, "My Donna! You said she could never travel with you again Doctor, but I told ya! I told ya, you don't know my Donna like I do! She will always find a way!" but he quickly stopped his celebrating when the Doctor didn't seem as excited as he was, "This is good, innit?"

"I don't know," the Doctor rubbed his tired eyes, "there has never been a Human/Time Lord Metacrisis before. To my knowledge, Donna is the only one in the entirety of time and space. These changes to her body might help, but whether or not she'll be totally okay... I just don't know."

"You're a time traveller, ain't ya?" Wilfred asked, "So just go back in time and stop the meta-what-ya-ma-call-it-"

"I can't, I can't cross my own timeline."

"Now is not the time for weird alien laws," Sylvia chimed in, "If it will save Donna, shouldn't you just do it?"

"If I do this," the Doctor started, "and I'm talking theoretically now, but if I do this the best case scenario would be: I steal my hand back before The Master can use it, I destroy it so that it can't be used, I never run into Donna for the second time, she never travels with me, which means she's not there to stop Davros..." He studied the two humans before him who both looked totally lost and confused, "Long story short: we all die... Do you even want to hear worst case scenario?"

Sylvia shook her head and collapsed into one of the chairs next to the bed.

"So, what can we do Doctor?" Wilfred asked before sitting into the chair next to his daughter.

"All we can do is wait, and hope that she wakes up."

"And if she doesn't..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. If you grew and extra heart and grew your brain to five times its size you would need rest too."

Eventually Wilfred and Sylvia fell fast asleep in their chairs. But despite the surprisingly overwhelming need of sleep, the Doctor stayed up all night watching Donna, praying to every God he had ever heard of in his 906 years of time and space for some kind of sign of life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Sorry I took so long to update. Thanks for the reviews, It's always nice to know that someone is enjoying the story! x**

**Chapter 4**

Wilfred allowed his eyes to flutter open and lifted his head. A low groan escaped his mouth as he rotated his neck, attempting to loosen up the stiffness. _I'm too old for this, _he jokingly thought to himself. It wasn't until he looked around the room that he remembered the dire situation they were in and fear began to set in once again. But his worries subsided slightly when his eyes laid upon the bed where his granddaughter slept.

The Doctor- who had been sitting at Donna's side, holding her hand, just before Wilf had fallen asleep- was now lying beside her, still clutching her hand as if to let go would be to lose her. He always knew that there were feelings there, though neither would admit to it. _"Methinks thou doth protest too much..." _Wilf recalled himself saying on more than one occasion and was always met with a roll of the eyes.

Looking at them now, lying on that bed, no one would know how their fiery personalities clashed to create such brilliant banter, or how one childish mischievous glint in one of their eyes could spark an adventure of wild proportions for the both of them. No. In this breath, this heartbeat, they were simply two people who would do anything to keep each other safe, no matter how much it hurt. Wilf's heart painfully clenched as he recalled loving like that.

The Doctor slowly began to awake, the first sight before him being Donna's sleeping face and the corners of his mouth crept upwards into a dreamy smile. The second sight- Wilf's smug grin- was a little more alarming, causing the Doctor to panic slightly, falling off his side of the bed.

"Ow!" the Doctor rose from the floor rubbing his head, "Right. Must have fallen asleep... Sorry."

"Oh, no need to apologise, Doctor," Wilf practically beamed.

The Doctor started to stutter out various excuses before settling firmly on: "Shut up. Can we focus on your granddaughter's health please..."

The words barely left his mouth when the redhead let out a quiet moan and shifted in her sleep.

"Donna," Wilf called softly sitting on the bed and shaking her shoulder, "Donna, wake up, Love."

Eyes fluttered open to reveal a delicate blue and her hand shot up to brush a few stray strands of copper hair out of her face. The Doctor breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" Donna asked in her usual blunt tone, though it was dulled slightly with the heavy sleepiness that remained. She looked about the room, "Where am I, and who's he?" she pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor.

The Doctor sighed once more, this time more out of disappointment, though he knew he shouldn't have let his hopes up in the first place. He once again took his seat on the side of the bed.

"Donna, I'm the Doctor," he started, trying to calm her down, "You had a bit of an accident, you were out for almost 16 hours. We just need to monitor you and make sure that there's nothing wro-"

A blur that the Doctor would now be able to identify as a perfectly manicured hand flew out of nowhere and smacked him across the face sending him flying off the bed.

"What was that for?" he cried in disbelief as he registered what had happened and lifted himself from the floor.

"I can't remember..." Donna once again pointed an accusing finger, "But I know you bloody well deserved it!"

"That's good," the Doctor replied shaking his head as if trying to shake away the pain.

"How is that good Doctor?" Wilfred asked half shocked at the force of his Granddaughter's anger and half amused that the Doctor felt it completely warranted.

"It means that old memories may be awakening," the Doctor was now rubbing the red print on his cheek, "Let's just hope she can take them."

"Oi!" Donna cried out, "_She _is sitting right here! Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Donna?" Sylvia woke from her sleep and immediately flew to her daughter's side, knocking the Doctor back to the floor in the process.

Eventually everyone agreed on the most British solution to the rest of the day they could find... back to the house for tea. Donna was still a little shaky (though she wouldn't allow anyone to assist her on the walk across the street) and therefore didn't even bat an eye at the ridiculousness of a bright blue police box that was bigger on the inside. In fact, all any of them were interested in at that time was simply a cup of tea.

As the Doctor had warned both Wilf and Sylvia not to push Donna's memories too much, the conversation around the kitchen table began as mundane as it could.

"Donna, I meant to tell you that Martha called and said she had to leave town early," Sylvia started, "Something about Mickey and Africa..."

"Figures," answered Donna, "Those two have been inseparable the last few years. After they both joined that company and started dating-"

The Doctor choked on his cup of tea. "Martha? and Mickey? Not my Martha and Mickey?" he turned to Wilf for confirmation.

"Aye, they're working together- independently, but with ties to both Torchwood and UNIT," Wilf replied.

"Yes, THAT I believe, but dating?" he shook his head, "Strong confident Martha and the Tin Dog?"

"Oi! That's my friend you're talking about," Donna snapped, "Are you always this rude?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I love Mickey. Brilliant guy, brave even... I guess I can't help but still view him as the quivering mess I knew when I first met him- Mickey the Idiot... those were the days." the Doctor reminisced.

Something in the atmosphere of the room changed and the Doctor felt it, he looked back to Donna and saw nothing but fear and sadness emanating from her eyes.

"Donna?" the Doctor asked, lifting a concerned hand to her shoulder.

She shrugged his hand off as if his touch alone was poisonous. "You _killed_ them," she stated matter-of-factly, "you stood there and let them _die_!"

"Who?" the Doctor asked, hating that he needed specifics.

"The Racnoss..." She looked at him with fear and disgust.

"I gave them a chance," he replied meekly, "They didn't take it. I wish they did. I'm so very sorry you had to see that."

"But did you have to _kill_ them?"

"What else could I have done? The Racnoss have a never ending hunger, and who knows how many children she had. She alone could have wiped out the entire human population in one month."

"Lance..." Donna started, tears forming in her eyes, "Those things he said... he never really loved me?" she asked, though it was really more of a statement than a question.

"No," The Doctor could never bring himself to lie to her, "I'm so very sorry."

Donna seemed to think for a bit and a silence fell over the room until eventually she asked: "Did you ever take my advice?"

The Doctor just looked at her confused.

"When I told you to find somebody?"

"Oh, that advise! Always thought that was more of an order to be honest," He chuckled, "But, yes, I found Martha. We had a great time me and Martha."

"Martha travelled with you?!" The Doctor nodded his head with a grin, "Why isn't she still travelling with you?"

"Oh, she had enough," the Doctor explained, "She decided to start a real life here on earth. And it seems like she just might do that... with Mickey, of all people. But she left... oh, God, must be _years_ ago now."

"And you haven't travelled with any one since?"

"Well... there was this one Lady. Bit of a handful really, got one hell of a gob on her," he chuckled as he knew he'd pay for that if Donna ever fully recovered her memories, "But she left nearly three years ago now. Nobody could ever replace her. She was... She was different from all the others."

Donna jumped as if the most amazing thought had just occurred to her and her entire face lit up with a smile as she simply stated one word: "Adipose."

"Oh, weren't they beautiful!" the Doctor laughed.

"They were adorable!" Donna began to chuckle herself.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Sylvia spoke up, "But what _are_ you two talking about?"

"Mrs Noble, it appears your daughters memories are coming back," the Doctor beamed, "And they seem to be coming back in chronological order, which is brilliant! It's like she gets to live our time together all over again!"

The Doctor snapped his neck back to resume his conversation with Donna but his joy suddenly disintegrated when he was met face to face with a now crying Donna. She didn't make a sound but just allowed a steady flow of tears to run down her face.

"All those people..." she whispered softly. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry softly into his shoulder.

"What people?" Wilfred asked, his concern for his granddaughter obviously showing.

"Pompeii, 79AD," the Doctor replied, "Twenty thousand people died that day... and there was nothing we could do about it."

"No," Donna sat up and proudly stated, "19,996 people died that day. Four people lived thanks to you, Doctor."

"No, Donna. Four people and their thousands of descendants lived... thanks to _you_."

"And an entire species was freed from captivity thanks to _us_," Donna glowed.

"Ah! The Ood," the Doctor practically sang, "Now _they_ are beautiful creatures! So peaceful and trusting."

"Yeah, unlike the Sontarans!" Donna recalled, ""I will defeat you for the good of the Sontaran empire" what a load of rubbish! And see if I ever set foot on a Sontaran ship ever again. God, that place stank!"

"Well, believe it or not, Sontarans are vegetarians," the Doctor stated, "You would stink too if your diet consisted of mostly cabbage!"

"Well, I'll take the cabbage over the taste of Ginger Beer, walnuts and anchovies," Donna scrunched her nose, "Not a great mixture of flavours"

The Doctor blushed a little, "Yeah, can't imagine they'll be turning it into a Pringles flavour anytime soon," he laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "and by the way... Harvey Wallbanger?"

"Well, how was I to know? You were just waving your arms about like a madman!"

"Well, for future reference, this," the Doctor mimed once again, "Is the universal sign for salt."

"So," Sylvia butted in, "This is what you were off doing? Everyone else your age is perfectly content to just settle down, get married and have kids, but you go trolloping around the universe, chatting up aliens and watching people die? Maybe it's a good thing the Doctor had to leave you behind... if your marriage had lasted longer maybe I could have actually had a hope for grandchildren."

With that Sylvia got up to leave the room but was stopped when Donna choked: "His name was Lee. We had two children."

"What?" Sylvia asked, shocked.

"It wasn't real..." The Doctor tried to explain.

"It was to me!" Donna snapped, "I had a husband and two children, and they were just taken away! Just deleted as if they were some sort of technical error."

"I know..." the Doctor tried to sooth her, "I know what it's like to lose a child. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry," Donna pulled him into a hug, for her own benefit as well as his, "I was trying not to bring up Jenny."

"That's okay," the Doctor pulled out of the hug and wiped the tears from Donnas face, "Hey, pain's good. Without pain you would never when you were happy."

"And I know I'm happy now. I've got my best friend back!" Donna smiled, but a confused expression soon replaced the happy, "There is something I don't get though... How did I get from travelling all over time and space with you to being stuck on earth without my memories?"

The Doctor himself was confused. Something was preventing Donna from remembering what was probably the saddest day of his life. And perhaps he didn't want her to remember.

"That's not important right now," The doctor smiled, "All that matters is that you're safe..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After all the drama the day had brought everyone agreed to settle down to a family dinner. The Doctor and Donna telling and reliving old memories that had Wilf utterly intrigued and even gained a little bit of interest from Sylvia, who had obviously resigned to at least be civil towards the Doctor. In fact, she was so civil that when the Doctor offered to help wash up after dinner she politely declined and ushered the two men into the living room whilst she and Donna cleaned up.

It was then that Wilf decided that it was time to talk frankly with the Doctor:

"So, Doctor," He began, "Just what exactly are your intentions with my Granddaughter?" he asked with an all-knowing smile.

"Well, I'd love to have her travelling with me again," The Doctor nodded taking a sip of his tea, "If she wants to, of course. But with all that knowledge of time and space... I honestly don't think she'll be able to resist."

"That's not what I meant, Doctor," Wilf beamed.

"Wilfred Mott, I have no idea what you are referring to," the Doctor smiled back.

"You can't fool me, Doctor," He pointed, a playful glint in his eye, "You love her and you know it."

The Doctor winced at the mention of the "L word". He knew he had feelings for Donna, but Love? Was that even an option for him? It certainly wouldn't be with any other human being, but Donna was different. Donna was... Donna. She was someone he could always trust, someone that would always tell it to him straight- whether he liked it or not. But it was so much more than just trust. He trusted Martha and Rose and even Jack to a certain degree, but he had a connection with Donna that went so much deeper than that.

The sound of glass shattering from the kitchen pulled the Doctor out of his thoughts and out of instinct he placed his cup on the table ran for Donna.

"What is it? What happened?" he asked bursting through the kitchen door.

"Oh, Donna!" Sylvia cried, "That was one of the good glasses! What did you go and do that for?"

The shattered glass lay at Donnas feet on the kitchen floor as she stared blankly at it from above. Blood from a gash created by a stray glass fragment trickled down her finger and steadily dripped onto the white tiles of the floor.

"Sorry, Mum," Donna replied in a monotone, nearly reflex response, "...was an accident."

"Donna?" The Doctor tried to turn her attention from the broken glass by placing a hand on her shoulder but she barely blinked, "Donna?" he tried one more time and her head snapped up as their eyes locked. The Doctor almost wished she would yell or scream or even cry, because this was something he had no idea how to deal with- a stone cold silent Donna.

"Alright. Here we go," the Doctor reached around her, grabbed the first tea towel he could get his hands on and wrapped it tightly around her hand, "Let's get you to the sofa, yeah?" he lead her out the kitchen.

"Oi, That's one of the good towels!" Sylvia protested.

"Mrs Noble, yesterday afternoon you certainly seemed to think that your daughters health was a little bit more important than a tea towel," he scolded as he helped Donna to the sofa, "Do you think we could show the same amount of compassion when she's conscious?"

Sylvia reluctantly nodded and followed the rest of the family into the living room. Donna was set down on the couch and continued to stare blankly at nothing in particular.

"Donna?" The Doctor inquired crouching down in front of her, trying to catch eye contact once again but she continued to stare blankly ahead.

"_The never-ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia_..." Donna eventually mumbled, "_A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map_."

"He was an idiot..."

"No, but he was right though," Donna finally looked him in the eyes, "I was nothing!"

"Don't say that," The Doctor grabbed her uninjured hand, "Don't you ever say that."

"But, I was!" Donna stood up angrily, "And _you_ made me go back to it! You finally gave my life meaning then you took. it. away."

The Doctor took a step back and examined her for a minute. He remembered the first day he met her. He remembered one of the first things he said to her: "You're not special, you're not powerful, you're not clever, you're not important...". He'd seen in her eyes then, that she actually believed every word of it. She never felt valuable and that one brief moment where she shone brighter than possibly any other human being had, he took away.

"Wilfred, Mrs Noble, could you give us a minute?" the Doctor asked without even taking his eyes off Donna for a second.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Wilf stated, more to Donna than the Doctor before ushering his hesitant daughter out of the room. The Doctor waited for them to leave before he began to speak.

"All of those memories..." he started, "I honestly meant it when I said we had the best of times. But do you really think all that made you special?"

"I saved the fabric of reality itself." Donna stated firmly, "I don't mean to sound big headed but yeah, I think that makes me special."

"That's not what I meant. You still don't get it. I meant that, all of that- everything you did... saving the Ood, stopping at least two wars, saving the planet from invasion time and time again, even- as you said- saving reality itself. None of that _made_ you special. None of it made you important, unique or even smart. Don't you see? It all happened because you **are **special, because you are _brilliant_! All of it, only because you are, were and always will be Donna Noble. The Doctor Donna... I didn't take anything away from that."

"You made me go back to a world where I was just another human being. Lost in a crowd of billions... So unimportant."

"That's just it! "Just another human being," I'm sorry but there is no higher honour! You humans are amazing. To this day I have never found a human that was unimportant or insignificant. Show me a human and I'll show you how the future of the earth rests on that person!"

"That's not the point!" Donna screamed, "I begged you not to do it. I stood there and cried for mercy and you did it anyway! You took away my life... no one man should ever have that power."

"I know. And I'm sorry. If it had been Rose, or Martha or even Sarah Jane I would have respected their wishes and flown to the ends of the universe to find a way to help them."

"I always knew I wasn't as important to you as the others," Donna stated quietly, "But was I really that insignificant?"

"Oh, No!" The Doctor jumped, "You've got it all wrong, Donna! That's not what I meant at all. What I meant was, I would risk anything to have given the others what they wanted. Oh, I would have moved entire galaxies to help them- risked their lives even. But, with you... I just couldn't risk losing you. It's not that you meant less to me than the others- it's that you meant so much more."

"Why?"

"Oh, I've asked myself that question a thousand times," the Doctor replied with a smile, "and the only simple answer I've managed to come up with is... because you're Donna Noble, the best friend I've ever had in the entirety of time and space."

"Ok, I've just got one more question," Donna stated, adjusting her hand which she appeared to only now be noticing as injured, "How did you figure it out?"

"Figure what out?"

"How to taste a rainbow!" Donna's voice dripped with sarcasm, "How to help me keep my memories, you prawn!"

"Well... um..." the Doctor looked down at his feet.

"Oh. My. God! You have no idea, do you?" Donna laughed, "I managed to figure it out subconsciously and you have no clue what happened!"

"Yes. Alright, don't rub it in," the Doctor fidgeted, "How did you do it."

"Think about it. I needed just that little bit more regeneration energy with some sort of a strong and powerful connection to the time vortex itself..."

"...which the Tardis could provide, although I can't imagine it would have been very comfortable for the old girl." but the Doctor still looked puzzled, "In theory, it should work to make your body completely able to support the change but it would have required one hell of some sort of shock."

"Harvey Wallbanger..." Donna practically sang.

"Of course!" the Doctor hit the side of his head, "That's brilliant! and so simple... I should have thought of it..." he continued to berate himself quietly under his breath as he paced up and down, "I'm thick... thick and old... not enough space in my head..."

"But you're missing the obvious question here, Doctor." Donna smiled smugly, "The real question here is... If you didn't know, why did you kiss me?"


End file.
